Nicholson passes in hospital

CHARLOTTESVILLE—Former R.E. Lee High School football star Reginald “Shay” Nicholson, 19, died at the University of Virginia Medical Center, a Staunton police officer and friends said Friday.

Nicholson was shot in the back of the head Nov. 9 in Harrisonburg at an off-campus housing complex near James Madison University. He remained in critical condition for nearly two weeks. The Harrisonburg Police Department said Friday afternoon that Nicholson was still in critical condition at the hospital.

A reporter seeking to make contact with Nicholson’s family late this afternoon at the hospital was told that relatives had left and would not return. Hospital officials declined to comment.

Friends of the former tailback disputed Harrisonburg police accounts, saying Nicholson died overnight. “Shay was declared brain dead last night and he is no longer living on this earth anymore,“ Keisha Nicholson, who identified herself as his cousin, wrote in an e-mail.

Neither Harrisonburg prosecutor Marsha Garst nor R.E. Lee officials could be reached for comment.

“Rest In Peace” messages for Nicholson spread Friday on Facebook pages and elsewhere on the Internet.

Cindy Wood, a friend of Nicholson’s who organized a vigil on his family’s behalf, asked for continued prayer in a new message posted to a fundraising Facebook group for relatives of the former Liberty University recruit. More than 100 people gathered at Gypsy Hill Park for the vigil.

“The family needs your prayers more than anything right now,” Wood’s message said.

Nicholson’s friend and fellow Blue Ridge Community College student Zuri Hart, 18, said by phone that he had passed away. She said she frequently saw him training at the YMCA where she works and had visited him in the hospital.

Nicholson rushed for more than 1,200 yards in his senior season at R.E. Lee. He did not play as a freshman at Liberty last year and left school in the spring. He was attending classes at Blue Ridge Community College.

Authorities have arrested five men in relation to the shooting.

Zackery Turner, 18, of Charlottesville, faces four charges related to firing a gunshot that hit Nicholson. Jahmaine Faqiri, 18; Gregory Baker, 20; Demonds Parrish, 19; and Ricky Parrish, 21, all of Ruckersville, all were charged with assault and battery by a mob and gang participation. Faqiri also was charged with brandishing a firearm.